The lawyers for convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard said Tuesday U.S. officials have decided to release him in November after 30 years’ imprisonment.
“We are grateful and delighted that our client will be released soon,” said a statement from Pollard’s lawyers, Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman.
The 60-year-old Pollard, a one-time civilian Navy analyst, was arrested in November 1985 when he unsuccessfully sought asylum in Israel’s embassy in Washington. He was convicted of passing suitcases full of military secrets to his Israeli handlers and sentenced to life imprisonment, a rare instance of one ally spying on another that resulted in a criminal prosecution.
To this day, he remains a controversial figure in the sometimes contentious relations between the U.S. and Israel. His supporters say he was punished excessively, while some U.S. government prosecutors and officials still call him a traitor who should not be released.
With his prospective November 21 release coming as Israel protests the U.S. support for the international deal to restrain Iran’s nuclear program, some U.S. analysts have suggested that Pollard’s release is an attempt to show continuing support for the Jewish state.
Pollard was eligible for parole in November as part of the terms of his sentence. But both Pollard’s attorney and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denied there was a link between Pollard’s release and the Tehran nuclear accord.
White House and other officials have adamantly denied that Pollard’s planned release is in any way tied to the Iran nuclear deal. And Israeli officials have said while they would welcome Pollard’s release, it would not ease their opposition to the Iran agreement.
The U.S. has previously dangled his release, including during Israel-Palestinian talks last year, when the Obama administration considered the possibility of releasing Pollard early as part of a package of incentives to keep Israel at the negotiating table. As it turned out, the peace effort collapsed despite the Pollard release offer and nothing came of the proposal.
Israel apologized to the U.S. in 1987 for its role in the Pollard case, but did not admit to paying him until 1998. Israel granted him citizenship in 1995 and has for years sought his release, but been rebuffed by U.S. leaders.
At least some of the documents passed to Israel ended up in the Soviet Union and several U.S. intelligence officials have over the years adamantly opposed his release.
His sentence, while called a life term, by law made parole mandatory after he served 30 years, unless the government showed he was likely to commit more crimes. His 30 years will be up in another four months. Under terms of his parole, Pollard must remain in the U.S. for five years, but his lawyers say they have asked U.S. President Barack Obama to release him early and allow him to emigrate to Israel.
Pollard has battled health problems in recent years and is being held in the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina. He is scheduled for release on Nov. 21, his lawyers said.
Had he been denied parole, his lawyers said, Pollard would have been required to serve an additional 15 years in prison. But the Justice Department earlier this month signaled that it would not oppose Pollard’s parole bid.
The attorneys said Pollard was “looking forward to being reunited with his beloved wife Esther.”
Some material for this report came from AP.
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